Home>News Center>World
         
 

US says 'thousands' of missiles missing
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-02-25 08:46

WASHINGTON - It has been known for years that thousands of light and lethal shoulder-fired missiles are in black-market circulation. What is not known is exactly who has them and whether many have fallen into the hands of terrorists or criminals.

A worrisome puzzle, it explains why the United States and Russia signed an agreement Thursday to cooperate in destroying surplus Soviet-era SA-7s and other portable anti-aircraft missiles. The smallest of these are durable, relatively cheap and easy to smuggle.

A mujahedeen rebel aims a U.S.-made Stinger missile near Gardez, Afghanistan, Dec. 1991. The State Department estimates that about 1 million shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles have been produced worldwide since the 1950s. The number believed to be in the hands of 'nonstate actors,' such as terrorist groups, is 'in the thousands,' the department says. [AP]
A mujahedeen rebel aims a U.S.-made Stinger missile near Gardez, Afghanistan, Dec. 1991. The State Department estimates that about 1 million shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles have been produced worldwide since the 1950s. The number believed to be in the hands of 'nonstate actors,' such as terrorist groups, is 'in the thousands,' the department says. [AP]
The United States also has understandings with several other countries, including Nicaragua, Bosnia, Cambodia and Liberia, for Washington to provide technical assistance or money to destroy anti-aircraft missiles.

The State Department estimates that about 1 million shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles have been produced worldwide since the 1950s. The number believed to be in the hands of "nonstate actors," such as terrorist groups, is "in the thousands," the department says.

"What's driving this is concern about the threat to commercial aviation," said Wade Boese, research director at the private Arms Control Association. A single successful missile attack on a passenger plane could paralyze the airline industry, at enormous economic loss, he said.

There has been only one known attempt against a commercial airliner outside of a war zone. In November 2002, two surface-to-air missiles barely missed an Israeli charter airliner taking off from the airport in Mombasa, Kenya, with tourists returning to Israel. Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida network claimed responsibility for the attempt.

The U.S.-Russian agreement signed by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov calls for sharing information about exports of these missiles to third countries.

Of note, Boese said, is the absence of a commitment by either Washington or Moscow to halt the exports.

The United States began selling its Stinger shoulder-fired missile to foreign countries in 1982. The CIA secretly transferred an estimated 2,000 to Afghanistan mujahedeen rebels in the mid-1980s, and they were used to down hundreds of Soviet helicopters and transport aircraft.

When the war against the Soviets ended in 1989, the CIA began offering to buy back the Stingers for as much as $150,000 apiece. In his book "Ghost Wars," author Steve Coll wrote that as recently as 1996 the CIA estimated there were about 600 Stingers still unaccounted for in Afghanistan.

There also are an unknown number of SA-7 and other types of shoulder-fired missiles in the hands of insurgents in Iraq.

A study published last year by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, said the U.S. government's records on exports of shoulder-fired missiles are "neither complete nor reliable."

The GAO said the Army and the office within the Pentagon that manages arms transfers have conflicted figures on missile exports. One says 7,551 Stingers have been sold abroad since 1982 and the other puts the figure at 8,331. One says Egypt bought 89; the other says Egypt bought none.

The biggest buyer over the period was Taiwan, with more than 2,200, followed by Denmark with 1,140; Japan with between 871 and 1,025, and Italy with as many as 885.



 
  Today's Top News     Top World News
 

South Korean nabbed in illegal banking

 

   
 

Man who kidnaps schoolboy seized

 

   
 

Top bank warns of investment rebound

 

   
 

More sectors opened to private investors

 

   
 

ISO meeting fails to back WAPI standard

 

   
 

Jump in accidents makes driver exam harder

 

   
  War saved me from court martial - Musharraf
   
  Bush-Putin summit to tackle nuclear terror
   
  Russia set to sign nuclear deal with Iran, irk US
   
  Identifying tsunami victims slow process
   
  Car bomb in Tikrit kills 10, wounds 25
   
  Oil prices hover near recent highs
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  News Talk  
  Are the Republicans exploiting the memory of 9/11?  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲熟女WWW一区二区三区| 国产精品jizz在线观看直播 | 黑人巨大无码中文字幕无码| 欧美日韩国产在线播放| 午夜视频在线观看免费完整版| 16女性下面无遮挡免费| 学渣坐在学长的棒棒上写作业作文| 久久天天躁狠狠躁夜夜躁2014| 欧美国产日韩一区| 亚洲精品国产成人| 精品国产柚木在线观看| 国产乱人伦真实精品视频| 国产三级在线视频播放线| 国产精品公开免费视频| 一个人看的www日本高清视频| 日韩人妻不卡一区二区三区| 亚洲av无码精品色午夜果冻不卡| 欧美最猛黑人xxxx黑人猛交98| 亚洲视频你懂的| 男人扒开女人下面狂躁动漫版| 北条麻妃一区二区三区av高清| 翁熄系列乱老扒bd在线播放| 国产亚洲精品2021自在线| 黑人3p波多野结衣在线观看| 国产欧美一区二区三区久久| 福利免费在线观看| 尤物永久免费AV无码网站| 久久久久人妻一区精品| 日韩精品无码中文字幕一区二区| 亚洲中文字幕在线无码一区二区| 欧美日韩亚洲中文字幕二区| 亚洲电影在线免费观看| 澳门皇冠8x8华人永久免费| 做a的视频免费| 男人日女人app| 伦理片中文字幕完整视频 | 日韩精品欧美高清区| 乱人伦人妻中文字幕在线入口 | 中文japanese在线播放| 成年人在线免费看| 中文字幕制服诱惑|